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Miami Dolphins coach: We took action after woman said Richie Incognito harassed her at golf tournament

Miami Dolphins coach: We took action after woman said Richie Incognito harassed her at golf tournament

Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said Saturday that the club took “immediate action” against offensive lineman Richie Incognito after a woman told police he molested her at a team-sponsored charity golf tournament in May 2012.

But Philbin would not say what action the team took and declined to say why Incognito was allowed to become a member of the team “leadership council” this season.

“Any club action we’d take against a player would be kept private,” Philbin said. “We wouldn’t describe anything.”

Incognito, who was spotlighted this season in a Dolphins video on fan etiquette, was suspended by the club last week for conduct detrimental to the team. He is being investigated by the NFL in the alleged bullying of fellow offensive lineman Jonathan Martin, who has quit the team.

A volunteer at the Dolphins’ golf tournament last year said Incognito rubbed a golf club against her crotch, stomach and chest, rubbed his crotch against her, knocked a pair of sunglasses off her head with the club and poured bottled water on her.

She did not ultimately pursue charges and told WPLG-TV in Miami last week that a confidentiality agreement prevented her from discussing the case, which means she might have reached an out-of-court settlement.

The Dolphins practiced Saturday and met with reporters — including a large group of national media — for the last time before their game Monday night at Tampa Bay. Philbin said he has been in constant contact on the unfolding scandal with owner Stephen Ross, new CEO Tom Garfinkel, general manager Jeff Ireland and team vice president Dawn Aponte.

“We’re all committed to getting to the bottom of this,” Philbin said.

Dolphins players spoke to the media for the first time since Martin’s attorney released a blistering statement Thursday night that said Martin was harassed by teammates and even physically attacked. The attorney said a teammate sent Martin a voicemail with a racial slur; other sources said Martin received abusive text messages.

Miami players denied ever seeing Martin harmed by a teammate.

Cornerback Brent Grimes said the whole situation has become “out of control” and that it’s unfair that private messages sent to Martin are becoming public.

“If you talk to your friends and they recorded everything you said, people would say, ‘Oh my God,’ ” Grimes said. “It is what it is. (Martin) is doing what he’s got to do, I guess. All we can do is play football.”

Grimes said he believes someone is telling Martin “to go that route.” Grimes’ wife, Miko Grimes, wrote on Twitter, “If you think a 25-year-old man is capable of being bullied by his teammates, is it possible he’s now being bullied by his attorney/family?”

Miko Grimes also wrote that Dolphins players had Martin’s back.

“When JM is getting his (expletive) shoved in the dirt by a d-lineman, who do you think comes to his rescue every time?” she wrote.

Cornerback Nolan Carroll acknowledged that players who left Martin vulgar messages and now might be part of the NFL investigation could be distracted entering the Bucs game.

“You shouldn’t have to be like that,” Carroll said. “You should trust guys that you’re with because you’re with them every day and you know their struggles, you know what they’re going through, they know what you’re going through.”

Right tackle Tyson Clabo said “the pressure that all this has created from the media standpoint can really cause some problems.

“But as far as the guys in this locker room, we all pretty much see this thing through the same set of eyes,” Clabo said. “We’re just ready to go and try to change the narrative and get back to football.”

Defensive tackle Jared Odrick said it hurts that people are questioning players’ character.

“They’re questioning us as human beings and not even football players,” Odrick said. “Everything will work itself out. We’ve got the type of characters in here who are going to be able to go out on Monday and play one hell of a game.”